Half of
all office workers feel out of place and pressurised to speak in meetings even
though they have nothing to say, claims a report.
The survey
by recruitment company Office Angels finds that nine out of 10 office workers
spend an average of ten hours a week in meetings.
More than
90 per cent of respondents spend a tenth of the time they are in meetings
feeling useless, which Office Angels estimates costs British business £10
billion a year.
Nearly
three quarters of the 1,500 people surveyed, say they are plagued by their own
long silences in meetings, making them resort to comments about the weather or
current news to break the ice and validate their presence.
To make
their presence felt 70 per cent of employees believe they must speak within the
first twenty minutes of a meeting.
A fifth of
respondents contributed during meetings to raise their profile within the
organisation and 26 per cent spoke up to appear a confident team player.
Although
after speaking 94 per cent of respondents did feel more confident.
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